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Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside AmazonMerchant Video

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Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon Kindle Edition

by Colin Bryar (Author), Bill Carr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 3,023 ratings

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Working Backwards is an insider's breakdown of Amazon's approach to culture, leadership, and best practices from two long-time, top-level Amazon executives.

Colin started at Amazon in 1998; Bill joined in 1999. In Working Backwards, these two long-serving Amazon executives reveal and codify the principles and practices that drive the success of one of the most extraordinary companies the world has ever known. With twenty-seven years of Amazon experience between them, much of it in the early aughts—a period of unmatched innovation that brought products and services including Kindle, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, and Amazon Web Services to life—Bryar and Carr offer unprecedented access to the Amazon way as it was refined, articulated, and proven to be repeatable, scalable, and adaptable.

With keen analysis and practical steps for applying it at your own company—no matter the size—the authors illuminate how Amazon’s fourteen leadership principles inform decision-making at all levels and reveal how the company’s culture has been defined by four characteristics: customer obsession, long-term thinking, eagerness to invent, and operational excellence. Bryar and Carr explain the set of ground-level practices that ensure these are translated into action and flow through all aspects of the business.

Working Backwards is a practical guidebook and a corporate narrative, filled with the authors’ in-the-room recollections of what “Being Amazonian” is like and how it has affected their personal and professional lives. They demonstrate that success on Amazon’s scale is not achieved by the genius of any single leader, but rather through commitment to and execution of a set of well-defined, rigorously-executed principles and practices—shared here for the very first time.

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298 pages
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English
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St. Martin's Press
Publication date

February 9, 2021
File size

4296 KB
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Popular Highlights in this book

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Amazon realized early on that if you don’t change the underlying condition that created a problem, you should expect the problem to recur.
Highlighted by 688 Kindle readers
“The best way to fail at inventing something is by making it somebody’s part-time job.”
Highlighted by 579 Kindle readers
He truly embodies the Amazon motto, “Work hard, have fun, make history.”
Highlighted by 248 Kindle readers

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jeff Bezos once told me that unlike Google or Apple, 'Amazon doesn't have one big advantage, so we have to braid a rope out of many small advantages.' Amazon has demonstrated again and again that success doesn't result from one big stroke of genius but from a set of clear business practices consistently and boldly applied. Colin Bryar and Bill Carr dive deep into how Amazon has become the company to study if you want to succeed in 21st-century business." --Tim O'Reilly, owner of O'Reilly Media

"For those looking to change the world in ways (very) large and small via innovation and business, my strong recommendation is to dive deeply into Working Backwards. Bill and Colin have delivered a rarity of immense value, which is a powerful, high judgment dissection of the inputs to Amazon itself. I anticipate Working Backwards to quickly become required reading in board rooms and classrooms around the world." --Jason Kilar, Chief Executive Officer of WarnerMedia

“Colin Bryar and Bill Carr have operationalized the core management practices that lie behind Amazon's success. In particular, their insights into how any successful leader can focus on narrative and metrics to take a short-cut to the truth are essential for any leader in any industry. You'll want to have your highlighter ready and keep this book close at hand for quick reference." --Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor

“Colin and Bill give us an insider’s view of Amazon during what was an extraordinary period of growth for the organization. Having partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS) during my time at Red Hat and now at IBM, I can attest to their unrelenting commitment to customers. Leaders who want to foster customer obsession and drive operational excellence within their organizations should read this book.” --Jim Whitehurst, President, IBM

“Working Backwards serves as a blueprint enabling leaders to implement guiding principles, operating rhythms and durable mechanisms that allow teams to scale effectively, even as your business expands at an accelerated clip. A must read for every entrepreneur or business leader focused on driving growth.”
--Mariana Garavaglia, Chief People & Business Operations Officer, Peloton

“Colin and Bill have captured the essence of what it means at Amazon to start with the customer and work backwards. They both held important leadership roles at critical moments in the company’s history that they’ve translated into interesting stories and lessons for readers. I even plan to use it as a reference myself.” --Jeff Wilke, CEO, Worldwide Consumer, Amazon

“Colin and Bill very precisely captured the unique corporate culture of Amazon and described many of the essential parts of Amazon’s approach to innovation. They offer a unique, insiders’ view of the company with many valuable lessons for large companies that want to reinvent their business models as well as for startups that want to scale rapidly. This is the definitive innovation playbook.” --Serguei Netessine, Vice Dean and Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at The Wharton School

About the Author

Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998 -- four years after its founding -- and spent the next 12 years as part of Amazon's senior leadership team as Amazon grew from a domestic (US-only) seller of books to a global, multi-dimensional powerhouse and innovator. For two of his years at Amazon, Colin was "Chief of Staff" to Jeff Bezos, AKA "Jeff's shadow", during which he spent each day attending meetings, traveling with, and discussing business and life with Jeff. After Amazon, he and his family relocated to Singapore for two years where Colin served as Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce company RedMart, which was subsequently sold to Alibaba. Colin is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon.

Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than 15 years with the company. As Vice President of Digital Media, Bill launched and managed the company's global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. After Amazon, Bill was an Executive In Residence with Maveron, LLC, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm. Bill later served as the Chief Operating Officer of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S. Today Bill is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08BYCQBZN
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (February 9, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 9, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4296 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1529033845

Best Sellers Rank: #48,551 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #10 in Company Histories
- #29 in Business Decision-Making
- #57 in Company Business Profiles (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 3,023 ratings

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Bill Carr
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Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than 15 years with the company. As Vice President of Digital Media, Bill launched and managed the company's global digital music and video businesses, including Amazon Music, Prime Video, and Amazon Studios. After Amazon, Bill was an Executive In Residence with Maveron, LLC, an early-stage, consumer-only venture capital firm. Bill later served as the Chief Operating Officer of OfferUp, the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S. Today Bill is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon. Bill holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colby College and a Masters in Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
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Colin Bryar
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Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998 -- four years after its founding -- and spent the next 12 years as part of Amazon's senior leadership team as Amazon grew from a domestic (US-only) seller of books to a global, multi-dimensional powerhouse and innovator. Colin served as a Vice President at Amazon, and for two of his years he was "Chief of Staff" to Jeff Bezos, AKA "Jeff's shadow", during which he spent each day attending meetings, traveling with, and discussing business and life with Jeff. After Amazon, he and his family relocated to Singapore for two years where Colin served as Chief Operating Officer of e-commerce company RedMart, which was subsequently sold to Alibaba. Colin is co-founder of Working Backwards LLC where he coaches executives at both large and early-stage companies on how to implement the management practices developed at Amazon. Colin holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Engineering degrees in Operations Research from Cornell University.
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Wally Bock

A realistic and practical review of what Amazon did and does to achieve success

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022

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In my lifetime there has always been one company that was held up as the paragon of all that is good and innovative in business. We were supposed to emulate that company. GM was first, followed by IBM, then by GE. Now it's Amazon's turn. If you’re seeking insight into what made Amazon successful so far, you’ll love this book. There are many examples and things you can try regardless of the business you’re in.

But this book is different from most books about what to copy from great companies. It tells you about the background of Amazon’s best practices. You’ll learn why Amazon adopted them and follow the sometimes-tedious process of development. You’ll discover why some lauded practices (e.g., two-pizza teams) have been superseded.

Working Backwards does not turn Jeff Bezos into an all-wise, infallible business saint either. That’s important because it allows you to appreciate the role teams can play in developing processes. It’s also evidence that you don’t need a Jeff Bezos to succeed.

Colin Bryar joined Amazon in 1998 and spent twelve years there. Most relevant for this book, for two years he was Jeff Bezos’ chief of staff. Bill Carr joined Amazon in 1999 and spent more than fifteen years there. He and his teams launched and managed the company’s global digital music and video businesses. The result is a true “view from inside.”

The book is divided into two parts. The first, “Being Amazonian,” is about foundational principles and practices and Amazon culture. Jeff Bezos described the culture this way.

“Our culture is four things: customer obsession instead of competitor obsession; willingness to think long term, with a longer investment horizon than most of our peers; eagerness to invent, which of course goes hand in hand with failure; and then, finally, taking professional pride in operational excellence.”

That’s basic, but not operational. This section also goes into detail on Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles and several operating practices. This will be the most helpful part of the book for most readers. You’ll get ideas on how to hire more effectively, why some team practices work and others don’t, and why Amazon relies on the written word to develop and communicate ideas.

You’ll discover why Amazon uses leading indicators to manage performance. There’s a chapter on the principle of “working backwards” that is so important, that the authors chose it for the title of the book. They describe it this way.

“Working Backwards is a systematic way to vet ideas and create new products. Its key tenet is to start by defining the customer experience, then iteratively work backwards from that point until the team achieves clarity of thought around what to build.”

Working backwards is one of those “simple but not easy” ideas. The good news is the authors go into detail on the process and tools Amazon uses to make it happen. They’re adaptable to most businesses regardless of size or industry.

The chapter on leadership principles and mechanisms plus any other chapter in the first section are worth the price of the book several times over.

Part 2 is “The Invention Machine at Work.” Chapters describe the development of Kindle, Prime, Prime Video, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Each chapter is an example of how the principles and practices outlined in Part 1 guided product development in a real situation.

Praise to whoever is responsible for two devices that make this book more helpful. One is detailed appendices with examples that you can use as models, as well as a timeline to show you what was happening and when. The other is the practice of beginning each chapter with a short overview of what you’ll find in it.

In a Nutshell

Any business reader will benefit from reading Working Backwards, applying the principles, and adapting the practices Amazon uses so successfully.

10 people found this helpful

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Brian R.

Interesting, thoughtful, & informative book

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2021

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book on several levels. If you are an entrepreneur or business leader (or student of business), it is a "must read" -- and I say that having read many books about successful businesses as well as high profile business failures (eg, Long Term Capital Management, Enron, Theranos, etc). It presents a panoply of principles and processes that Amazon honed over many years by trial and error, and which have contributed to Amazon's tremendous success. Importantly, these principles and processes, to varying degrees, can be scaled to apply to other businesses -- from start-ups to large businesses -- across industries. Some of these principles are not intuitive, or even somewhat counter-intuitive, such as Amazon's decision to ban use of PowerPoint presentations and insist on using (seemingly tedious) 6 page narratives for presenting and evaluating prospective new ventures or products. The authors do a great job using concrete examples of how the principles and processes worked in practice at Amazon, and how they could work in other contexts as well. These examples are presented through the lens of each authors unique experience at Amazon, with many interesting and often humorous anecdotes that bring life to the book, insight into one of the world's most innovative companies, and make Working Backwards much more than just a "business" book. Anyone who is curious about Amazon -- or who wants a voyeuristic "peek" into what it would be like to work with Jeff Bezos and within Amazon's senior leadership team -- will enjoy this book.

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Rob Kirk

High-level, great.. as a business book to help your own business, it's ok

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021

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It was great understanding the basic principles of learning how and what makes Amazon so successful but that's where the book struggles, in the details. Too many details! Yes, usually you don't hear that. Most business books have a big idea and then struggle to show how to implement. This book shares the big idea and tells how it's done.. but it's not really easy to implement for a business owner. It's a solid book, mostly interesting, and worth your time.

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LoveWorksDotCom

Should be a must read for any business person

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022

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I bought this book to give me reading material on an international trip. I wasn't sure if it would keep me engaged for long, but that was incorrect. It was interesting to say the least and gave me a feel for the "customer centric" approach to business. What makes it so realistic is that I have begun to view each interaction I have with companies against the operations of the book -- in other words, are they a customer centric company, and the results and realizations have been shocking. As you begin to absorb the "working backwards" mantra, you realize that so many companies have got it wrong.

This is just as much for small business people as it is for corporations. Even though you won't implement the highly structured procedures and practices that in the book, you will find that there are aspects of your business that can be improved -- and some of them, quite easily.

There is so much in the book that I found interesting, including the fact that AWS started out as nothing more than an API. That was a shocker to read knowing where AWS is now.

And because Amazon stretches across so many disciplines, it makes you realize that Bezos understood the need to hire the RIGHT people in every part of business; and to make sure those people were in it for the long-term.

If you run a business, the explanations of the Amazon way will make you think about ways to improve everything you do. Excellent book - thoroughly enjoyed reading.

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great read!

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024

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Nice approach to some of the most recent and relevant Amazon initiatives but most importantly to its processes, culture and strategy.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Cliente Kindle

interessante

Reviewed in Brazil on October 2, 2023

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recomendo a leitura

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C C

Culture drives everything

Reviewed in Canada on December 3, 2022

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Basically it describes the Amazonian culture as the foundation stones for the success of the company within going into lots of technical so as to make it easily readable. Great work!

Amazon Customer

Damaged / Dañado

Reviewed in Mexico on November 8, 2021

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